TITLE: Title
Consideration of Proposed Text Amendments to the Land Use Ordinance to Establish Requirements for EV Charging Stations
PURPOSE: The purpose of this item is for the Town Council to consider a draft ordinance that would amend the Land Use Ordinance by adding new requirements for EV charging stations and EV capable infrastructure to the existing parking standards in Article XVIII. A revised draft ordinance has been provided.
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DEPARTMENT: Planning
CONTACT INFORMATION: Christina Moon - 919-918-7325, cmoon@townofcarrboro.org <mailto:cmoon@townofcarrboro.org>; Marty Roupe - 919-918-7333, mroupe@townofcarrboro.org <mailto:mroupe@townofcarrboro.org>; Patricia McGuire - 919-918-7327, pmcguire@townofcarrboro.org <mailto:pmcguire@townofcarrboro.org>; Nick Herman - 919-929-3905, gnherman@broughlawfirm.com <mailto:gnherman@broughlawfirm.com>
INFORMATION: On May 18, 2021, the Town Council held a public hearing on a draft ordinance to amend the LUO by adding new requirements for EV charging stations and EV ready infrastructure for developments with more than 50 required parking spaces, and for EV infrastructure for parking in the common areas in residential developments with 15 or more dwelling units (Town of Carrboro - Meeting of Town Council on 5/18/2021 at 7:00 PM (legistar.com) <https://carrboro.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=823952&GUID=4243CAA8-2A85-4862-8973-CC00C559AA4C&Options=&Search=>).
Discussion at the public hearing resulted in the following changes to the draft ordinance:
1) The term “EV Ready” was replaced with “EV Capable throughout the ordinance;”
2) The word “circuit” was replace with the word “panel” in the definition for EV capable;
3) The threshold number of parking spaces to require EV infrastructure was reduced from more than 50 spaces to more than 35 spaces;
4) The requirement for an EV charging station to be placed in an ADA parking space was modified with additional language to clarify that this space shall be in addition to whatever ADA spaces are otherwise required on the site.
5) The language regarding the prohibition on non-EV vehicles parking in designated EV parking spaces was reworded for clarity.
6) New language was added to clarify the applicability of the new requirements for all developments.
There was also discussion as to whether to include standards for electric bicycle charging infrastructure as part of the draft ordinance. Staff’s preliminary research has yielded examples for bicycle charging infrastructure only for long-term covered bicycle parking, such as an area of bicycle parking in a parking deck. Staff will continue to research this topic for future consideration.
The public hearing was closed on May 18th and the 24-hour additional comment period ended on May 19th. An agenda item was prepared for May 25th for the Council to consider the draft ordinance to possible adoption, but additional refinements were identified. A revised draft ordinance, capturing the requested modifications has been provided (Attachment B). A copy of the ordinance showing the changes in tracking has also been provided (Attachment D).
The Council also requested that staff provide a follow-up report analyzing the results of the new requirements two-years after adoption. A second resolution has been provided as Attachment C to formalize that request.
FISCAL & STAFF IMPACT: Public notice costs and staff time are associated with the review of text amendments for public hearings and advisory board review.
RECOMMENDATION:r Staff recommends that the Council consider adopting the resolution for consistency (Attachment A), the revised draft ordinance (Attachment B), and the resolution requesting the follow-up report (Attachment C).